Grape Martinis & Honey Whiskey
by Hiram McDaniels
Summary: It was unexpected. All of it. And neither of them were ready for it. But they had to deal with it anyway because that's what life is. Dealing with shit that hurts you and upsets you and angers you. But when you have a little alcohol, it all gets a little easier.


**A/N: So, I've never written a fanfic before, so I would very much love if anybody and everybody who reads this will give me some nice constructive criticism. I will probably continue writing this for my own pleasure and if you guys like this then I will post more chapters and such. *crosses fingers* I hope you guys like this.**

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When Eridan decided to drop by the bar after another stressful day at the university, he didn't expect anything new to happen. He would go in, sit by the quietest part of the bar, order himself two grape martinis, and sit there for ten or so minutes, just looking around the bar and drinking his beverages**.**

This time as he sat down to order his drinks, he noticed a new bartender behind the bar. He was currently cleaning the contents of somebody's stomach off the counter, while another employee mopped up the mess on the floor. Eridan grimaced in disgust at the sight.

When he got his drinks, he downed half of the first martini, enjoying the taste of the vodka that was running down his throat. He wasn't exactly of legal age, but that had never seemed to be a problem here. He liked to think it was because he acted so mature and sophisticated, but he knew it was probably because most of the bartenders didn't give a shit.

Eridan looked back at the new guy. He was serving a drink to a girl Eridan had seen here quite often. In fact, every time he stopped by here, the young woman was always in the same spot, usually drinking the same plain martini. Despite the fact that he had seen her so many times, he had never spoken to her. He liked her fashion sense, though, she was always wearing a scarf whenever he saw her.

Putting his attention back to the bartender, he admired how attractive he looked. Eridan guessed he couldn't be any older than himself. He was tall. A few inches taller than Eridan. His short brown hair had that sexy 'untamed' look to it and his side burns reached all the way down his face to that start of his jaw. He also noticed that the guy seemed a little depressed. Something about him, possibly the way his movements were a bit slow or the way his shoulders seemed to slump at times.

Eridan made a mental note to strike up a conversation with him later. He was a curious person, maybe a little nosy, and he wanted to know why the handsome new bartender looked so upset.

Eridan finished his first martini, moving to his second one. He always made the second one last longer than the first, to savor it. Vodka was definitely his drink of choice, with wine close behind it. But he preferred to drink his wine alone in his apartment on Friday and Saturday nights with a CD from his classical music collection playing. That was usually the only time he let himself get drunk.

As New Guy (Eridan referred to him as that in his head since he still did not know his name) turned towards him to get some ice for a drink, Eridan noticed something interesting. The young man's eyes were two different colors. One was a sky blue color and the other a deep shade of red mahogany. Eridan passed it off as them just being contacts, a way to bring in more customers. But he was a little taken aback by the absolute grief and sorrow in his eyes.

After a couple more minutes and ordering a third martini, another bartender showed up. This guy was somebody Eridan recognized and had actually asked out on a date once, but he was denied in a way that was both rude and polite. Karkat was quite the character, and Eridan still had a bit of a crush on him.

Karkat gave New Guy a pat on the back and said something to him. New Guy nodded, a frown appearing on his face. Then he grimaced and turned around and hastily left through a side exit.

Eridan waited a few more minutes, but New Guy didn't come back. He sighed and placed some cash on the counter to pay for the drinks and left. He was a bit tipsy and he stumbled slightly while exiting the building. He went to the bus stop and waited. The bus arrived several minutes later, and Eridan climbed on and sat down, putting in his earbuds to listen to his music as he waited for his stop. The beautiful sound of Jacqueline du Pré playing her cello filled the background as Eridan thought about that new guy at the bar.

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Approximately forty-five minutes later, Eridan had settled into his cloud of a bed, wrapped up in his favorite purple blanket, staring at his glowing fish tank and watching the fish swim around lazily.

As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts still revolved obsessively around New Guy, wondering who he was, what his name was, why he looked sad, what his lips felt like against Eridan's.

Eridan sighed, shaking his head and turning over to his other side. Either he forgot about this guy or he learned everything about him. Since the former would be obviously impossible, he would have to go with the latter, which actually made him excited. He would talk to Kar tomorrow about the new guy, and hopefully at least learn his name.

The Aquarius fell asleep moments later, anticipating tomorrow and what he would hopefully get to know about an extremely attractive guy.

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**A/N: Alright, so this is probably pretty short, but it's all I've got for right now. I really don't have much of a plan for this story, I'm just gonna let it do what it wants. So again, please review this and tell me what you think, what I'm doing wrong, what I should change. I would really appreciate it if you did.**


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